B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®

B2B Marketing views, news and interviews.

Joseph Lindberg of Land O’Lakes Outlines How to Build a Marketing Dashboarding Discipline #DSMPLS

Elizabeth Williams
Elizabeth Williams on Aug 15th, 2019
Digital Marketing, Digital Summit, Marketing PR Conferences

Marketing measurement. It’s absolutely essential, but perhaps one of the hardest marketing disciplines to master. Why? As Joseph Lindberg, Digital Communications Editor for Land O’Lakes, Inc., told a room of marketers at Digital Summit Minneapolis this week:

“Measurement is a loaded term. It means many things to many people.”

It’s true. Measurement can be thought of in terms of KPIs. Measurement can be raw data or data insights. Measurement can be your stack of tools.

And during his session, titled Building a Marketing Dashboarding Discipline: It’s Not About the Tool (Until It Is), Joseph challenged marketers to flip our thinking on how we measure.

Below we outline his recommended process and advice for how you can level up your measurement game, and map tactics to business objectives so you can prove value up the ladder.


Joseph Lindberg of Land O’Lakes Outlines How to Build a Marketing Dashboarding Discipline #DSMPLS

The Future of Marketing As Seen By Randi Zuckerberg #DSMPLS

Randi Zuckerberg Speaks at DSMPLS

“Technology is changing the way we do business.” 

Said everyone, ever. 

Marketers know technology is changing how we interact with our audience. But knowing it’s happening and doing something about it are two very different things. 

Randi Zuckerberg is no stranger to technology and its effects on business, daily life, and social structures. As the founder and CEO of her own media company, Zuckerberg Media, and a former marketing leader at Facebook, Randi has a unique vision for the future of marketing and how today’s marketers can adapt. 

Explore that future with her insights below from the floor of Digital Summit Minneapolis. 

We’re Afraid to Fail

We’ve been talking about the evolving state of marketing for years. But maybe we as marketers haven’t changed all that much. Why?


The Future of Marketing As Seen By Randi Zuckerberg #DSMPLS

What Can Marketers Learn From the Children In Our Lives? Plenty

Elizabeth Williams
Elizabeth Williams on Jul 25th, 2019
B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing

What Can Marketers Learn from Kids?

In my experience, most marketers fancy themselves as lifelong learners, taking pride in innovating their work and skill set to maximize their impact. We keep tabs on emerging trends, tactics, and tools. We follow industry leaders for their insight. We consult our internal teams and external partners for advice. 

But there may be one specialty group we don’t look to for inspiration enough: The kids in our lives.

As a parent of two adorable monsters who are growing up way to fast, I’ve been reflecting a lot on how far they’ve come. Of course, I’ve realized that I’ve come far too, as both a parent and a marketer. And I’d wager that most of us have kids in our lives who have the potential to teach and remind us of some important things that can make us better humans and better at what we do.


What Can Marketers Learn From the Children In Our Lives? Plenty

How to Power Marketing Presentations With Data Visualization & Win Over Your Audience

Alexis Hall
Alexis Hall on Jul 22nd, 2019
B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing

Data Visualization for Marketing Presentations

We’ve all been there. We’re five minutes into (what we thought would be) a riveting, data-driven presentation, yet a quick scan of the room reveals the audience is staring blankly at our data tables as we drone on. Or worse, someone asks a pointed question about what they do or don’t see and the discussion goes completely of course. Yikes.

Perhaps the best advice I ever received in this regard was so simple yet incredibly smart: “Try it as a line graph.”

I had presented a data-backed presentation and robust recommended next steps, but whether it was boredom or data suspicion that crept in, I failed to make my case. After the weeks I spent looking at a spreadsheet, I took that visionary advice. When the day came to remake my case, that line graph immediately won my critics over.


How to Power Marketing Presentations With Data Visualization & Win Over Your Audience

When Sparks Fly: The TopRank Marketing Team’s Firework Marketing Moments

Anne Leuman
Anne Leuman on Jul 4th, 2019
Digital Marketing

Firework Marketing Moments

Marketers are a passionate breed. Whether we’re crafting content, unearthing optimization opportunities, or digging into performance metrics to understand where we went right or wrong, we’re wide-eyed and determined.

Our work is a labor of love, and we’re often driven by special moments that spark awe, imagination, and a sense of accomplishment. Those moments that make us go “Boom!” Those moments where we can sit back for a few minutes and watch in wonder. I’m talking about those firework marketing moments.

via GIPHY

What moments light up the marketing skies for some of our team members? See what makes them go oh, ah, and cheer for an encore.

Our Firework Marketing Moments 

Ashley Zeckman

Senior Director of Digital Strategy


When Sparks Fly: The TopRank Marketing Team’s Firework Marketing Moments

Q2 Wrap-Up: Top Changes & What’s Ahead For Marketers

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Jul 1st, 2019
B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing

Q2 Digital Marketing Recap Technical Image

We’ve made it through the second quarter of 2019, one filled with many important B2B marketing changes and several unexpected twists and turns that will all combine to affect how the industry moves forward as we enter Q3 and push ahead to 2020.

Q2 saw several exciting shifts in entirely new directions, and a few seemingly slight directional maneuvers and adjustments that are nonetheless set to make big impacts in the coming year.

We’re always working to bring you the most relevant B2B marketing news, including weekly industry news videos from Tiffani Allen and Joshua Nite here on our blog and on our TopRank Marketing YouTube channel, and each quarter we reflect on what’s happened and look ahead with key trends.


Q2 Wrap-Up: Top Changes & What’s Ahead For Marketers

B2B Demand Gen: The Next Evolution of 5 Tried-And-True Tactics

Joshua Nite
Joshua Nite on Jun 13th, 2019
B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing

New Demand Gen Tactics

B2B demand gen used to be easier than B2C. Because, let’s face it, so much B2B marketing was deadly boring. A cool concept, a little creative design, or a dash of humor were like water in the desert.

Now, though, it’s the norm for B2B marketing to be every bit as visually and emotionally compelling as B2C. Suddenly we’re selling water by a lake, not a desert. There’s no shortage of cool content. Audiences expect more, and marketers (including your competitors) are keeping up with demand. So it’s time to take B2B demand gen to the next level.

B2B Demand Gen Tactics: The Next Evolution

What follows are some logical upgrades for some of your favorite time-tested tactics. That’s not to say, of course, that you should stop doing things that are already working. But it’s worth testing these evolutions out to see what works for your target audience.


B2B Demand Gen: The Next Evolution of 5 Tried-And-True Tactics

Q1’s a Wrap, B2B Marketers: Where We’ve Been & What’s Next in 2019

Caitlin Burgess
Caitlin Burgess on Apr 4th, 2019
B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing

Q1 Digital Marketing Recap

We made it, B2B marketers. Spring is finally in the air and Quarter 1 is officially a wrap. Take a moment to bask in your individual, team, and business successes—you earned it.

As is tradition, in just a few short months the digital marketing industry has experienced some newsworthy shifts—from a big Google algorithm update in March to a host of new targeting and advertising features across several platforms.

To build on the Q1 successes we just celebrated—and take full advantage of new opportunities—let’s take a look back at what 2019 has gifted us so far.

What’s new and worth paying attention to? What opportunities and challenges have arisen? And what do we all need to keep in mind as we move into and beyond Q2? Let’s dive in.


Q1’s a Wrap, B2B Marketers: Where We’ve Been & What’s Next in 2019

How B2B Marketers Can Strategically Test New Digital Marketing Tactics

Alexis Hall
Alexis Hall on Apr 2nd, 2019
B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing

How to Strategically Test New B2B Marketing Tactics

When it comes to testing new marketing tactics, B2B marketers often find themselves in one of two camps:

  1. Chasing the new, shiny object. (Their motto: Let’s innovate, innovate, innovate!)
  2. Maintaining the status quo. (Their motto: We don’t mess with what’s working.)

Whichever camp you currently find yourself in, chances are high that you’re intrigued by what the other has to offer. The chasers are fearless innovators who are eager to test any new platform, media type, or strategy—and the keepers of the status quo are methodical budget managers who have proven tactics and processes on lockdown.

However, we’d suggest finding a middle (camp)ground: Testing strategically. (Your motto: I test to add to my success.)


How B2B Marketers Can Strategically Test New Digital Marketing Tactics

So Long, San Diego! Top Takeaways From #SMMW19

Ashley Zeckman
Ashley Zeckman on Mar 26th, 2019
Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing World

Have you ever experienced the post-party blues?

You know that feeling you have when the party has died down and everyone has gone home? The good news is, for years you’ll be left with the great memories of the things you learned and time you spent together (even if it was brief) long after the party ends.

While I was sad to leave sunny San Diego and the amazing marketers that I got to see and meet at Social Media Marketing World last week, I’m happy to have walked away with some incredible insights and deeper connections.

For those of you who were watching from afar (or attended but weren’t able to catch every session), I’ve included some top insights from the conference below. So, strap on your marketing (party) hat and join the festivities!


So Long, San Diego! Top Takeaways From #SMMW19

Attribution Analysis: How Marketers Can Stay on the Cutting Edge & Prove Impact

Ashley Zeckman
Ashley Zeckman on Mar 25th, 2019
Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing World, Web Analytics

With the amount of data available today, you’d think that marketers would be confident in reporting the impact of their efforts. Unfortunately, a recent study from The CMO Survey found that the #1 C-suite communication challenge for marketers is STILL demonstrating the impact of their work on financial outcomes.

Part of the reason for this struggle is that while data is readily available, we aren’t tracking the right metrics, and may even struggle to understand how to set up proper tracking to access the information we need. And as we know, poor tracking leads to poor performance which leads to unhappy leadership teams.

In his presentation at Social Media Marketing World last week, Chris Penn took a deep dive into a framework for collecting high-quality data and the different options available for properly attributing the results of your marketing efforts.


Attribution Analysis: How Marketers Can Stay on the Cutting Edge & Prove Impact

Dropping Digital Distractions With Brian Solis

Brian Solis at Social Media Marketing World 2019

Photos. Texts. Emails. Video. Digital is a pivotal part of our daily lives.

So what if we stopped using it?

Brian Solis, the author of Lifescale: How to live a more creative, productive and happy life, wants us to think hard about our digital distractions and drop them from our habitual behavior. As digital marketers, this notion sounds antithetical to our mission. But Brian promises that disconnecting is beneficial to marketers as well.

Below, I share Brian’s thoughts on digital distraction and business from his session at Social Media Marketing World 2019.

Focus Is Elusive

“My ability to be creative, to dive deep, to focus, to give myself time away from my device, was not only difficult but impossible,” Brian said.


Dropping Digital Distractions With Brian Solis

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